Freakier Friday (2025)
Directed by: Nisha Ganatra
Premise: A sequel to the 2003 version of Freaky Friday. Two decades later, Anna (Lindsay Lohan) parents her teenage daughter (Julia Butters) with the help of her mother (Jamie Lee Curtis) and prepares to marry a single father with his own daughter (Sophia Hammons). The four women are cursed with a body swap and must learn to be family.
What Works: Like its predecessor, Freakier Friday is a feel good, family-oriented comedy and as a legacy sequel it plays to the audience’s affinity for the 2003 film. Virtually the entire central cast returns and despite the two decades between installments Freakier Friday is a mostly seamless continuation of the story. The sequel recaptures the feel of its predecessor especially in its humor and chaotic sense of fun but also the likable mother-daughter relationship. As a sequel, Freakier Friday one-ups the concept of the original film. The 2003 picture was about a generational conflict between mother and daughter. The sequel is about a blended family with cultural differences. The 2003 body swap played out between two people but in the sequel it is between four people: Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan’s characters are imbued with the minds of the teenage characters while the adult consciousnesses are trapped in the bodies of the younger women played by Julia Butters and Sophia Hammons. Although it is a little much to keep track of, the actors have fun with the roles. Jamie Lee Curtis is again the star of the show both dramatically and comedically. She is very funny in part because she is so unselfconscious and willing to be ridiculous. The makers of Freakier Friday understand their audience and the sequel plays to both the older viewers who enjoyed the 2003 film and to younger viewers with a contemporary sensibility. But the new film also satirizes contemporary life in a knowing way that’s often funny.
What Doesn’t: Freakier Friday leans into the nostalgia and occasionally overplays that appeal. There are a lot of callbacks to its predecessor and some of those moments are forced or simply recreations of scenes from the 2003 film but without the context that made those scenes matter. The picture especially leans into the old age jokes with Jamie Lee Curtis poking fun at her senior status. A lot of those jokes land but there are so many of them that the bit feels overwrought. The story of Freakier Friday is split into two halves with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan paired on a separate adventure from the teens. The movie toggles between the two sets of characters and the Curtis-Lohan portion is stronger. Older actors playing younger characters is a lot funnier than the inverse and Curtis and Lohan have the more interesting material.
Bottom Line: Freakier Friday is a lot of fun. Some jokes and callbacks suffer from redundancy but this is a satisfying family comedy that will play to older and younger viewers alike. It’s a sequel that equals its predecessor.
Episode: #1061 (August 17, 2025)